Newark Public Schools

Newark Public Schools
Address
756 Broad Street
Newark
, Essex County, New Jersey, 07102
United States
Coordinates40°44′16″N 74°10′16″W / 40.737868°N 74.171044°W / 40.737868; -74.171044
District information
GradesPreK-12
SuperintendentRoger León
Business administratorValerie Wilson
Schools63
Affiliation(s)Former Abbott district
Students and staff
Enrollment40,423 (as of 2020–21)[1]
Faculty2,886.5 FTEs[1]
Student–teacher ratio14.0:1[1]
Other information
District Factor GroupA
Websitewww.nps.k12.nj.us
Ind. Per pupil District
spending		 Rank
(*)		 K-12
average		 %± vs.
average
1ATotal Spending$24,28199$18,89128.5%
1Budgetary Cost17,3039414,78317.0%
2Classroom Instruction8,864578,7631.2%
6Support Services3,5861012,39249.9%
8Administrative Cost1,8571001,48525.1%
10Operations & Maintenance2,675961,78350.0%
13Extracurricular Activities19027268−29.1%
16Median Teacher Salary60,7093164,043
Data from NJDoE 2014 Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending.[2]
*Of K-12 districts with more than 3,500 students. Lowest spending=1; Highest=103
Headquarters

Newark Board of Education is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade in the city of Newark in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The state took over the district in 1995—the third takeover statewide—and returned control in 2018, after 22 years.[3][4] The district is one of 31 former Abbott districts statewide that were established pursuant to the decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court in Abbott v. Burke[5] which are now referred to as "SDA Districts" based on the requirement for the state to cover all costs for school building and renovation projects in these districts under the supervision of the New Jersey Schools Development Authority.[6][7]

As of the 2020–21 school year, the district, comprising 63 schools, had an enrollment of 40,423 students and 2,886.5 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), for a student–teacher ratio of 14.0:1.[1]

The total school enrollment in Newark city was 75,000 in 2003. Pre-primary school enrollment was 12,000 and elementary or high school enrollment was 46,000 children. College enrollment was 16,000. As of 2003, 64% of people 25 years and over had at least graduated from high school and 11% had a bachelor's degree or higher. Among people 16 to 19 years old, 10 percent were dropouts; they were not enrolled in school and had not graduated from high school.[8]

The district is classified by the New Jersey Department of Education as being in District Factor Group "A", the lowest of eight groupings. District Factor Groups organize districts statewide to allow comparison by common socioeconomic characteristics of the local districts. From lowest socioeconomic status to highest, the categories are A, B, CD, DE, FG, GH, I and J.[9]

  1. ^ a b c d District information for Newark Public School District, National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed February 15, 2022.
  2. ^ Taxpayers' Guide to Education Spending April 2013, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed April 15, 2013.
  3. ^ Yi, Karen. "Newark finally gets control of schools -- What we learned about N.J.'s state takeovers", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, February 1, 2018, updated April 2, 2019. Accessed March 26, 2022. "Chris Cerf departed the district Thursday as the last state-appointed superintendent. The exit marks the end of 22 years of state rule: Control of Newark schools has finally returned to the city.... New Jersey was the first state to takeover a school district when it assumed authority of Jersey City schools in 1989. Paterson would follow in 1991; Newark in 1995. Camden schools were taken over in 2013."
  4. ^ Strunsky, Steve. "22 years of state control over Newark schools: A Timeline", NJ Advance Media for NJ.com, September 17, 2017, updated May 15, 2019. Accessed March 27, 2022.
  5. ^ What We Do: History, New Jersey Schools Development Authority. Accessed March 1, 2022. "In 1998, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in the Abbott v. Burke case that the State must provide 100 percent funding for all school renovation and construction projects in special-needs school districts. According to the Court, aging, unsafe and overcrowded buildings prevented children from receiving the "thorough and efficient" education required under the New Jersey Constitution.... Full funding for approved projects was authorized for the 31 special-needs districts, known as 'Abbott Districts'."
  6. ^ What We Do, New Jersey Schools Development Authority. Accessed March 1, 2022.
  7. ^ SDA Districts, New Jersey Schools Development Authority. Accessed March 1, 2022.
  8. ^ "US Census". Census.gov. Archived from the original on January 5, 2009. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  9. ^ NJ Department of Education District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts, New Jersey Department of Education. Accessed March 18, 2015.